Two details at the start of Kaagaz instantly turned me off. First, we hear the voice of Salman Khan (the film’s producer) deliver the narration — replaced, quickly and inexplicably, by the voice of Satish Kaushik (also the film’s director). Then comes village scenes straight out of a government broadcast. It’s ample indication that, despite its unique plot, Kaagaz will take the most obvious route to tell it.
Bharat Lal (Pankaj Tripathi) is an ordinary band master in Amilo, UP. At his wife’s urging, he agrees to get a loan on his ancestral land, only to discover that his relatives have declared him dead on official records.
This is a real offence — prevalent through the 70s and later — and Bharat Lal is rightly indignant. Still, for a long while, he adheres to process, fighting a court case while writing urgent petitions to government overlords. But when none of that manages to elicit a reply, he decides to bend a few rules.
Inspired by the life of Lal Bihari Mritak, a farmer who was listed dead on official papers, Kaagaz has the fixings of a great satire. Much of the film is built around Bharat Lal’s attempts to get himself arrested — and thus get his name into the records. There’s great comic potential here, let down by callow humour and a blanket lack of wit. Satish Kaushik is one of our steadiest actor-directors, thriving especially in mainstream fare. But the social realism of Kaagaz largely eludes him.
Now and then, it’s hard to shake off the film’s old-world feel. There’s a duet featuring Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan. There’s an item number to make Vishal Bhardwaj wince. The casting of Pankaj Tripathi doesn’t help — for all his easy malleability, the actor is too devoted to his director for his own good. A more grounded performance is turned in by Monal Gajjar, as Bharat Lal’s softly disparaging wife.
Kaagaz
Cast:Pankaj Tripathi, Monal Gajjar, Satish Kaushik
Director:Satish Kaushik
Streaming on: ZEE5